I'm still behind on many, many comments, but I'm staying on top of the actual chapters because I'm hosting the next readalong post. :D
The titles for the excerpts are A+++, hahah, especially the first one, and so are the excerpts themselves, all the best scenes!
"Do you think Guo Changcheng is doing the same kind of volunteering in the drama?"
Hah, idk if he has the time in the drama (though maybe at least he used to do it pre-canon :D), but I hope so because it's one of my favorite things about novel GCC. :D
"“He’s Shen Wei,” Daqing supplied, feeling rather superior. He looked at Zhu Hong, now sprawled on the ground, and cleaned his claws. Only pretending to be outwardly calm, he graciously gave the girl next to him a moment to begin reconstructing her shattered worldview."
Daqing's entire dramatic vibe here, omgggg, especially considering he FELL OFF THE LEDGE when he found out. xD
"The Emissary’s hood fell back and revealed the elegant, refined features of Professor Shen—features that seemed wildly out of place in the current circumstances."
I am getting more and more convinced that he's only hiding his face because of Zhao Yunlan and all his previous incarnations (as we talked somewhere else, it's unlikely that the Emissary has never worked with the Guardian before). This is not really dramatic at all, this just feels like 'eh, I have no reason to hide my face' kind of thing (even though there are other people/creatures around, not just Zhu Hong).
I love the imagery of how the wound gets healed!
"The Ten Kings’ butts might’ve been welded to their thrones, given their unwillingness to do anything but throw their weight around. All the actual work, errand running, and generally thankless tasks inevitably landed on the Magistrate’s plate."
Lolol, the drama: Let's go literal with the 'butt welded to the throne' thing! :D
"There was even a clerk standing off to the side, wiping sweat from his face as he took inventory of everything."
The bureaucracy is so morbidly funny in the face of 'everything just imploded and everyone died'.
"Lord Magistrate, despite my low birth, my unworthiness, and how little my life has amounted to, before today I’ve heard of nothing in existence that the Soul-Executing Blade cannot or should not sever. But if my actions have inconvenienced you in any way… Well, you have my sincerest apologies, of course."
Asfgfhdjsklfjgjfdk, SHEN WEI ILY. There is so much happening here, from the entire falsely-calm terrifying vibe, to weaponizing his origins, to 'oh I could kill YOU too btw', ahhhh.
"Teeth gritted, Zhao Yunlan snarled, “I want to fucking drag you home and handcuff you so that you’ll stay put.”
With his back still turned, so Zhao Yunlan couldn’t see, Shen Wei suddenly smiled as though he’d just heard the most stirring, heartfelt romantic declaration the world had ever known. Even the trace of gloom in his eyes turned gentle, as if about to melt."
I've talked about this scene somewhere before, lol, OH GODS they are just SO UNHINGED, BOTH OF THEM. ♡♡♡
“I don’t believe in that shit. Just come home with me, and we can figure everything else out from there. Even if we can’t be together, you have to at least be somewhere I can see you every day, so I can rest easy…”
AW. ♡
"A sudden suspicion made Zhao Yunlan throw himself toward Shen Wei, reaching out to grab hold of him"
A suspicion of what exactly? (I would love more of Zhao Yunlan's thoughts sometimes, even if it can also be fun to piece them together later.)
"His voice was very calm. “Take Daqing with you. Oh, right—you said you were leaving. Do you know when, exactly? If so, let me know beforehand, and Wang Zheng can plan—”"
Zhao Yunlan just randomly starting to talk about organizational stuff is really chilling.
"Daqing jumped onto Zhu Hong’s feet. From his seat there, he looked up at Zhao Yunlan."
This is such a random place to sit (and make a long speech), lol, very cat I guess. :D
"Zhao Yunlan, for all his extroversion, was hard to read. If he didn’t want to show his joy or sorrow, his face would never betray him."
This is so well done in the drama. ♡
"It seemed to him that her shattered worldview had been reassembled in record time. The cat was in awe of her ability to take a blow and come back swinging."
:D :D I love that DQ who basically defines himself by being all sassy can appreciate someone else being sassy in the face of the Emissary reveal, even if (or especially if) he himself can't do that. :D
“Forcing you to be unable to leave him!” she blurted. “Forcing you to feel like you could never bear to give up on him, until he’s all you can see and nothing else matters!”
(Spoilers, I guess? Future vibes at least, lol.) Oh gods, Zhu Hong ILY and ngl I kinda lowkey wish you were more wrong than you are. xD
"Daqing, who had witnessed the entire scene, covered his face with his paws and came to the realization that he actually quite enjoyed melodramatic moments worthy of evening soap operas. His feline standards had tragically fallen."
:D :D :D This is so funny, I love him so much. :D
“You’re gentle, kind, pure, and beautiful, plus you’re a girl. You’re better than him in every way.”
Other than the 'girl' part, so is Shen Wei, lol.
"At best, I can pretend to be tender and considerate for about three days before I blow my cover."
Everything Zhao Yunlan says about his traits in this scene is pretty much a perfectly good point and an accurate description, lol, other than this. I think this one is not true at all, but I also think that he genuinely thinks it is true, which is really quite sad. At least in general he's more self-aware than Shen Wei. :P
"As he spoke, the small smile lurking at the corner of his mouth couldn’t quite be contained. A trace of tenderness shone through. "Sometimes I don’t have the first clue how he stands me. You probably can’t even imagine how good he is to me."
Gods, he's literally talking about old stinky socks and SMILING TENDERLY ABOUT SHEN WEI, asdfghfjdhjk, my hearttt ♡♡♡ (Also, lol, I was spot-on about the previous quote! It is bullshit that his tenderness is all pretend, case in point. :P)
“Come on, goddess, I’ll let you spit on me to clear out the bad luck and release all your anger. Throw the fuckboy card in my face. Say you’re too good for me and don’t want me anymore. How’s that?”
I love him, omg, I just love Zhao Yunlan so much!
"When Zhao Yunlan thought about it, what she was saying made a lot of sense; her choice of words almost seemed to wish him and Shen Wei a happily ever after. He smiled at her. “Of course only a ghost would like me.”"
I love them both, I love this whole scene sfm. :D (I tried to compare it to the drama version, but they're too different and I think I like different things about them.)
"He went right over the railing, landing gracefully on the deck of a boat and scaring the faceless ferry ghost. Zhao Yunlan patted the ghost’s shoulder. “Hey, bro, can I get directions? I wanna go to the Great Seal. How do I get there?”
The ferry ghost’s face was white as a sheet. Without a word, he jumped right into the Wangchuan River. Not even a bubble came up after he went under, perhaps because he didn’t need to breathe."
These two lines are A+++ comedy to me. :D :D :D
"He folded Shen Wei’s coat neatly and set it down in the boat. A weak spirit popped its head up from the water, wanting to reach out and touch it. Without sparing a glance, Zhao Yunlan said, “That garment belongs to the Lord Emissary. Are you hoping some of his divinity will rub off on you?”
Frightened, the spirit plunged headfirst back under the water and disappeared."
Everything about Shen Wei's coat = ♡♡♡! Also he keeps scaring the poor ghosts and it never stops being funny. xD
"Right at that moment, the water dragon pearl around his neck suddenly glowed a brilliant white as a huge air bubble formed, surrounding him completely. Zhao Yunlan tried letting go of the breath he was holding and was delighted to find that he could breathe again. Unafraid, he dove further down."
I'm so impressed that he never even considers that the bubble can disappear the way it appeared and just leave him stranded underwater with no way out. :P
"Finally being freed of his shackles and reclaiming the belongings that the Netherworld had confiscated from him all those years ago had put him in a great mood. As a result, he’d found a wild burial mound and gone there to spend a few days of his Lunar New Year break in seclusion."
It is so strangely adorable that his reaction to being in a great mood is to go live in a burial mound. :D :D (And it's so sweet of him that he came back because Zhu Hong is leaving! Srsly, CSZ is just a big softie, kind of. :D)
The entire scene with GCC carrying all the stuff immediately rememinded me of the drama one in episode 8 (a lot shorter and in an entirely different context, obviously), but the entire humor there is about how CSZ doesn't end up helping him, lol.
"He’d practically been carrying a miniature Walmart on his shoulders."
I'm assuming it's not 'Walmart' in the original? :D
"“Chu-ge!” Guo Changcheng exclaimed, looking up. If he’d had a tail, it would’ve been wagging hard enough to resemble an electric fan."
Asdfghfjdksljfkdl, this is so cute and wonderful. :D :D :D (And damn, CSZ is strong af!)
"Chu Shuzhi impatiently avoided the grasping paws and furrowed his brow. “Lead the way.”
Guo Changcheng obediently took the lead, jogging along."
I can see their drama body language here so clearly! :D
"Guo Changcheng’s weak communication skills meant he wasn’t the best companion for the elderly or adept at raising donations, so he worked hard to do some of the heavy lifting. He’d spent this break serving as a delivery man."
I'm just loving this storyline so much, from the car full of books to this, because been there done that. *high-fives GCC* :D :D
"He was completely satisfied with his life as it was. What could he possibly wish for other than his friends’ and family’s health? And right now, his friends and family all seemed happy and safe."
AW, is this the 'if everyone is happy, I am happy' scene? ♡
"Chu Shuzhi couldn’t help glancing over at him while waiting for a green light. Guo Changcheng wasn’t tall, strong, or handsome. No one was going to accuse him of having attractive features or of catching anyone’s eye in any way."
Except your eye, CSZ, lol.
"All things being equal, shouldn’t the fact that the kid’s merits were a meter thick grant him a life of safety and happiness? Why had he been born with such ill luck overshadowing him? Everyone knew merits and sins were bullshit when it came to The Book of Life and Death , but did the Netherworld really need to flout it so blatantly?"
Aw, honestly, CSZ knowing really well how much everything is unfair bullshit and STILL being indignant on GCC's behalf is so sweet and earnest of him?
"What won’t that dumbass Zhao Yunlan do?"
Such a perfect very first reaction to the Emissary reveal, lololol.
"“Wait— Shen Wei is the Soul-Executing Emissary ?” Chu Shuzhi’s face had gone green. After another moment, he mumbled, “I’ve teased him so much!”
Evidently, sometimes one was crowned the King of Calm only thanks to a delayed reaction time."
"The faint glow of the tree was enough that Zhao Yunlan could clearly see the words carved into the stone—in a script he had never laid eyes on before, yet was somehow able to read."
Would it be the same language as Shen Wei's description of the Kunlun painting? ("In fact, it wasn’t any sort of writing he was familiar with. Zhao Yunlan had never laid eyes on it before. And yet, somehow, one quick look told him exactly what it said.") Or specifically not the same one because he would recognize it from the painting?
"He kept watch over the pitch-black opening of the seal, sitting against the large stone tablet as he meditated. When boredom struck, he simply stared at the Ancient Merit Tree and spaced out for the whole day. Later, a lovely but unsettling youth would always be close at hand—an ever-present shadow."
This is the first time it occurred to me, but I feel like the aesthetic of them just sitting side by side, alone in the vast dark landscape in YOHE may have come from this.
"Kunlun-jun had spent his existence being told that he was absurd and impudent, day in and day out. Presented with the opportunity to say it to someone else, he seized his chance. “How impudent,” he scolded, despite not being angry at all."
This is so adorably childlike of Kunlun! Idk if it's there to put them on a similar level, but just, this is such a kid thing to do - 'people are saying a thing, I will say the same thing, I'm not sure WHY but they probably know what they're doing, and also, let someone else be confused for a change'.
"The young King of the Gui didn’t understand why Kunlun-jun was looking down on him. But he thought Kunlun-jun would not say anything without reason, so he dropped his gaze in shame."
And then SW does the exact same thing omggg. Someone give these literal (old af and immortal) KIDS some guidance pls.
no subject
The titles for the excerpts are A+++, hahah, especially the first one, and so are the excerpts themselves, all the best scenes!
"Do you think Guo Changcheng is doing the same kind of volunteering in the drama?"
Hah, idk if he has the time in the drama (though maybe at least he used to do it pre-canon :D), but I hope so because it's one of my favorite things about novel GCC. :D
"“He’s Shen Wei,” Daqing supplied, feeling rather superior. He looked at Zhu Hong, now sprawled on the ground, and cleaned his claws. Only pretending to be outwardly calm, he graciously gave the girl next to him a moment to begin reconstructing her shattered worldview."
Daqing's entire dramatic vibe here, omgggg, especially considering he FELL OFF THE LEDGE when he found out. xD
"The Emissary’s hood fell back and revealed the elegant, refined features of Professor Shen—features that seemed wildly out of place in the current circumstances."
I am getting more and more convinced that he's only hiding his face because of Zhao Yunlan and all his previous incarnations (as we talked somewhere else, it's unlikely that the Emissary has never worked with the Guardian before). This is not really dramatic at all, this just feels like 'eh, I have no reason to hide my face' kind of thing (even though there are other people/creatures around, not just Zhu Hong).
I love the imagery of how the wound gets healed!
"The Ten Kings’ butts might’ve been welded to their thrones, given their unwillingness to do anything but throw their weight around. All the actual work, errand running, and generally thankless tasks inevitably landed on the Magistrate’s plate."
Lolol, the drama: Let's go literal with the 'butt welded to the throne' thing! :D
"There was even a clerk standing off to the side, wiping sweat from his face as he took inventory of everything."
The bureaucracy is so morbidly funny in the face of 'everything just imploded and everyone died'.
"Lord Magistrate, despite my low birth, my unworthiness, and how little my life has amounted to, before today I’ve heard of nothing in existence that the Soul-Executing Blade cannot or should not sever. But if my actions have inconvenienced you in any way… Well, you have my sincerest apologies, of course."
Asfgfhdjsklfjgjfdk, SHEN WEI ILY. There is so much happening here, from the entire falsely-calm terrifying vibe, to weaponizing his origins, to 'oh I could kill YOU too btw', ahhhh.
"Teeth gritted, Zhao Yunlan snarled, “I want to fucking drag you home and handcuff you so that you’ll stay put.”
With his back still turned, so Zhao Yunlan couldn’t see, Shen Wei suddenly smiled as though he’d just heard the most stirring, heartfelt romantic declaration the world had ever known. Even the trace of gloom in his eyes turned gentle, as if about to melt."
I've talked about this scene somewhere before, lol, OH GODS they are just SO UNHINGED, BOTH OF THEM. ♡♡♡
“I don’t believe in that shit. Just come home with me, and we can figure everything else out from there. Even if we can’t be together, you have to at least be somewhere I can see you every day, so I can rest easy…”
AW. ♡
"A sudden suspicion made Zhao Yunlan throw himself toward Shen Wei, reaching out to grab hold of him"
A suspicion of what exactly? (I would love more of Zhao Yunlan's thoughts sometimes, even if it can also be fun to piece them together later.)
"His voice was very calm. “Take Daqing with you. Oh, right—you said you were leaving. Do you know when, exactly? If so, let me know beforehand, and Wang Zheng can plan—”"
Zhao Yunlan just randomly starting to talk about organizational stuff is really chilling.
"Daqing jumped onto Zhu Hong’s feet. From his seat there, he looked up at Zhao Yunlan."
This is such a random place to sit (and make a long speech), lol, very cat I guess. :D
"Zhao Yunlan, for all his extroversion, was hard to read. If he didn’t want to show his joy or sorrow, his face would never betray him."
This is so well done in the drama. ♡
"It seemed to him that her shattered worldview had been reassembled in record time. The cat was in awe of her ability to take a blow and come back swinging."
:D :D I love that DQ who basically defines himself by being all sassy can appreciate someone else being sassy in the face of the Emissary reveal, even if (or especially if) he himself can't do that. :D
“Forcing you to be unable to leave him!” she blurted. “Forcing you to feel like you could never bear to give up on him, until he’s all you can see and nothing else matters!”
(Spoilers, I guess? Future vibes at least, lol.) Oh gods, Zhu Hong ILY and ngl I kinda lowkey wish you were more wrong than you are. xD
"Daqing, who had witnessed the entire scene, covered his face with his paws and came to the realization that he actually quite enjoyed melodramatic moments worthy of evening soap operas. His feline standards had tragically fallen."
:D :D :D This is so funny, I love him so much. :D
“You’re gentle, kind, pure, and beautiful, plus you’re a girl. You’re better than him in every way.”
Other than the 'girl' part, so is Shen Wei, lol.
"At best, I can pretend to be tender and considerate for about three days before I blow my cover."
Everything Zhao Yunlan says about his traits in this scene is pretty much a perfectly good point and an accurate description, lol, other than this. I think this one is not true at all, but I also think that he genuinely thinks it is true, which is really quite sad. At least in general he's more self-aware than Shen Wei. :P
"As he spoke, the small smile lurking at the corner of his mouth couldn’t quite be contained. A trace of tenderness shone through. "Sometimes I don’t have the first clue how he stands me. You probably can’t even imagine how good he is to me."
Gods, he's literally talking about old stinky socks and SMILING TENDERLY ABOUT SHEN WEI, asdfghfjdhjk, my hearttt ♡♡♡ (Also, lol, I was spot-on about the previous quote! It is bullshit that his tenderness is all pretend, case in point. :P)
“Come on, goddess, I’ll let you spit on me to clear out the bad luck and release all your anger. Throw the fuckboy card in my face. Say you’re too good for me and don’t want me anymore. How’s that?”
I love him, omg, I just love Zhao Yunlan so much!
"When Zhao Yunlan thought about it, what she was saying made a lot of sense; her choice of words almost seemed to wish him and Shen Wei a happily ever after. He smiled at her. “Of course only a ghost would like me.”"
I love them both, I love this whole scene sfm. :D (I tried to compare it to the drama version, but they're too different and I think I like different things about them.)
"He went right over the railing, landing gracefully on the deck of a boat and scaring the faceless ferry ghost. Zhao Yunlan patted the ghost’s shoulder. “Hey, bro, can I get directions? I wanna go to the Great Seal. How do I get there?”
The ferry ghost’s face was white as a sheet. Without a word, he jumped right into the Wangchuan River. Not even a bubble came up after he went under, perhaps because he didn’t need to breathe."
These two lines are A+++ comedy to me. :D :D :D
"He folded Shen Wei’s coat neatly and set it down in the boat. A weak spirit popped its head up from the water, wanting to reach out and touch it. Without sparing a glance, Zhao Yunlan said, “That garment belongs to the Lord Emissary. Are you hoping some of his divinity will rub off on you?”
Frightened, the spirit plunged headfirst back under the water and disappeared."
Everything about Shen Wei's coat = ♡♡♡! Also he keeps scaring the poor ghosts and it never stops being funny. xD
"Right at that moment, the water dragon pearl around his neck suddenly glowed a brilliant white as a huge air bubble formed, surrounding him completely. Zhao Yunlan tried letting go of the breath he was holding and was delighted to find that he could breathe again. Unafraid, he dove further down."
I'm so impressed that he never even considers that the bubble can disappear the way it appeared and just leave him stranded underwater with no way out. :P
"Finally being freed of his shackles and reclaiming the belongings that the Netherworld had confiscated from him all those years ago had put him in a great mood. As a result, he’d found a wild burial mound and gone there to spend a few days of his Lunar New Year break in seclusion."
It is so strangely adorable that his reaction to being in a great mood is to go live in a burial mound. :D :D (And it's so sweet of him that he came back because Zhu Hong is leaving! Srsly, CSZ is just a big softie, kind of. :D)
The entire scene with GCC carrying all the stuff immediately rememinded me of the drama one in episode 8 (a lot shorter and in an entirely different context, obviously), but the entire humor there is about how CSZ doesn't end up helping him, lol.
"He’d practically been carrying a miniature Walmart on his shoulders."
I'm assuming it's not 'Walmart' in the original? :D
"“Chu-ge!” Guo Changcheng exclaimed, looking up. If he’d had a tail, it would’ve been wagging hard enough to resemble an electric fan."
Asdfghfjdksljfkdl, this is so cute and wonderful. :D :D :D (And damn, CSZ is strong af!)
"Chu Shuzhi impatiently avoided the grasping paws and furrowed his brow. “Lead the way.”
Guo Changcheng obediently took the lead, jogging along."
I can see their drama body language here so clearly! :D
"Guo Changcheng’s weak communication skills meant he wasn’t the best companion for the elderly or adept at raising donations, so he worked hard to do some of the heavy lifting. He’d spent this break serving as a delivery man."
I'm just loving this storyline so much, from the car full of books to this, because been there done that. *high-fives GCC* :D :D
"He was completely satisfied with his life as it was. What could he possibly wish for other than his friends’ and family’s health? And right now, his friends and family all seemed happy and safe."
AW, is this the 'if everyone is happy, I am happy' scene? ♡
"Chu Shuzhi couldn’t help glancing over at him while waiting for a green light. Guo Changcheng wasn’t tall, strong, or handsome. No one was going to accuse him of having attractive features or of catching anyone’s eye in any way."
Except your eye, CSZ, lol.
"All things being equal, shouldn’t the fact that the kid’s merits were a meter thick grant him a life of safety and happiness? Why had he been born with such ill luck overshadowing him? Everyone knew merits and sins were bullshit when it came to The Book of Life and Death , but did the Netherworld really need to flout it so blatantly?"
Aw, honestly, CSZ knowing really well how much everything is unfair bullshit and STILL being indignant on GCC's behalf is so sweet and earnest of him?
"What won’t that dumbass Zhao Yunlan do?"
Such a perfect very first reaction to the Emissary reveal, lololol.
"“Wait— Shen Wei is the Soul-Executing Emissary ?” Chu Shuzhi’s face had gone green. After another moment, he mumbled, “I’ve teased him so much!”
Evidently, sometimes one was crowned the King of Calm only thanks to a delayed reaction time."
Bwahhh, fantastic second-first reaction too. :D :D :D
"The faint glow of the tree was enough that Zhao Yunlan could clearly see the words carved into the stone—in a script he had never laid eyes on before, yet was somehow able to read."
Would it be the same language as Shen Wei's description of the Kunlun painting? ("In fact, it wasn’t any sort of writing he was familiar with. Zhao Yunlan had never laid eyes on it before. And yet, somehow, one quick look told him exactly what it said.") Or specifically not the same one because he would recognize it from the painting?
"He kept watch over the pitch-black opening of the seal, sitting against the large stone tablet as he meditated. When boredom struck, he simply stared at the Ancient Merit Tree and spaced out for the whole day. Later, a lovely but unsettling youth would always be close at hand—an ever-present shadow."
This is the first time it occurred to me, but I feel like the aesthetic of them just sitting side by side, alone in the vast dark landscape in YOHE may have come from this.
"Kunlun-jun had spent his existence being told that he was absurd and impudent, day in and day out. Presented with the opportunity to say it to someone else, he seized his chance. “How impudent,” he scolded, despite not being angry at all."
This is so adorably childlike of Kunlun! Idk if it's there to put them on a similar level, but just, this is such a kid thing to do - 'people are saying a thing, I will say the same thing, I'm not sure WHY but they probably know what they're doing, and also, let someone else be confused for a change'.
"The young King of the Gui didn’t understand why Kunlun-jun was looking down on him. But he thought Kunlun-jun would not say anything without reason, so he dropped his gaze in shame."
And then SW does the exact same thing omggg. Someone give these literal (old af and immortal) KIDS some guidance pls.